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Star Island
Star Island is a location in Jerako. As its name indicates, it is roughly star-shaped. Features Aside from its star-like shape, Star Island bears the distinctive Tiger's Rock, a conical stone tower with a spiral of stairs carved into it by generations of Tigers looking to snatch a quick snack in the form of an egg from nesting sea birds. The edge of the island is mostly sheer cliffs, with only one beach to the north, which is protected by breakers. These features, along with strong surrounding currents and rough waters, make the island difficult to access even in calmer times of the year. Each point and the center have differing features, with some areas shielded from storms by hilly terrain, while other features cause unusual wind currents that carry seeds and fertile soil to specific locales. The center of the island is prone to small vortices because of it. Culture Tigers make a living by fishing the dangerous waters and will often meet with the Tigers from the mainland. The island is largely self-sufficient because of the dangerous waters surrounding it and the inhabitants tend to hunt small game and gather from orchard areas. The population is low and the few small settlements tend to mingle freely due to the small size of the island. Tiger's Rock serves as a safe haven during surprise storms with some of its caves stocked with emergency supplies, but no permanent residences exist there. Despite its hazards, the denizens consider life there idyllic and are there by choice. Travel to and from can be facilitated by a capable ferry or the Tigers during enough of the year that one who would wish to leave would not be trapped for long. Development Star Island was originally the location of a forum roleplay that failed to gain traction. Due to similar lore, it was decided to bring it into Jerako as a later location. At certain points in development, using a different scale in relation to the world map than other areas has been considered to help spread out the features. The original concept for Star Island as a roleplay takes inspiration from "It's a Good Life" by Jerome Bixby, in that it was an island that was generally inaccessible from the rest of the world. Rather than allowing travel by sea, all denizens and objects would have been transported by Fey and the structure of "drop in; drop out" roleplaying was to be explained that the Faeries simply took people to and from the area. The Faeries themselves were not intended to be malicious figures, but rather playful and capricious similar to Jerako, and brought people to what they felt was a nice place as a favor, but would take those who did not want to be there back to where they came from, even if they felt hurt their gift was not appreciated. The denizens could request objects to be brought, but the Faeries had a policy of not bringing consumables specifically - they would bring a car and whatever fuel was in the tank, but would refuse to bring fuel specifically to replenish it. Faeries have no particular presence on the island in the final concept, and no association with travel to it in present times. Category:Locations